Nutter Watch

Top Gear's Christmas special had a bit of fun with religious themes.

The show with Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond,  nd James May included a joke with a little baby Stig doll as Jesus in a manger.

The show was a ratings hit, but the send-ups and flippant remarks triggered a few nutter whinges.

The presenters posed as the Three Wise Men to drive through Middle East countries. At one stage, they even wore burkas.

The Daily Star reports a few minor whinges on TV discussion forums and that hate preacher Anjem Choudary said: The burka is a symbol of our religion and people should not make jokes about it in any way. It would have been equally bad even if they'd not been in a country mainly populated by Muslims.

Comment: A Bastion Against PC

30th December 2010. From Andrew

What the fuck?

Seriously, that's the only way I can express my thoughts for what has to be the most ridiculous subject ever.

Why is it, Top Gear goes to a foreign country and makes a few HARMLESS jokes, and the nutters are in uproar? Why is it people can come to the UK with their views and opinions, and be honoured for them, yet when we make a slight hint of a joke about a god that MIGHT NOT EVEN EXIST (face it, have you seen him?) there's pandemonium.

Why is religion such a pain in the ass? I salute the Top Gear team for doing what Top Gear has always done. Provided entertainment. They have not been trampled on by those silly PC pricks who claim you can't say that, it might upset 1 out of 6 billion people.

A counter petition has launched to protest Apple's decision to ban an iPhone app opposing gay marriage.

The Manhattan Declaration app, which allowed Apple users to add their name to the ecumenical document in support of the sanctity of life, traditional marriage and religious liberty, was pulled from the App Store over the Thanksgiving holiday after a group of activists rightfully charged the app as anti-gay.

Some 7,700 Change.org members petitioned the company to ask them to pull the app, contending the statement contained hateful and divisive language.

Supporters of the Christian declaration are now fighting back with a petition of their own. As of Friday afternoon, over 37,000 people have signed the petition launched by the organizers of the Manhattan Declaration asking Apple to reinstate the app.

The petition addressed to Apple founder Steve Jobs and the company itself asserts that the positions espoused in the declaration are based on biblical Christianity. The letter rejects claims that the declaration promoted hate or homophobia: Disagreement is not hate, the petition states. We urge you and Apple, therefore, to promote communication and civil dialogue on these important social issues by reinstating the Manhattan Declaration App.

Update: Petition Refused

29th December 2010. See  article from  christianpost.com

More than 46,000 people signed a petition asking Apple to reinstate the Manhattan Declaration app, which is based on a document that upholds religious understanding of marriage and the sanctity of life.

But organizers behind the Manhattan Declaration said they were notified last week that the resubsmission was not accepted.

Apple is telling us that the apps' content is considered 'likely to expose a group to harm' and 'to be objectionable and potentially harmful to others, they said: Apple's statement amounts to the charge that our faith is 'potentially harmful to others.'

Those behind the Manhattan Declaration called the latest rejection by Apple appalling.

Organizers plan to take their rejected app matter to Apple's App Review Board.

Indian film actor Kamal Haasan has said that a song in his latest film Manmadan Ambu will be deleted from the movie in the interest of all religions .

The decision to delete the song has been made with a view to ensure people of all faiths see and enjoy the film. Had it been my production, I would have released the censor board certification which did not object to the contents, said Kamal.

The Hindu Makkal Katchi objected to the song saying it hurt the sentiments of Hindus. The song Kannodu Kannai Kalandhal reportedly speaks about a woman's desire and has references to deities Aranganathar and Sri Varalakshmi.

The BBC has angered the nutters of Christian Voice with a TV drama in which the Virgin Mary is branded a prostitute and sex cheat.

In The Nativity , written by Tony Jordan, 15-year-old Mary is attacked by people who do not believe her claim that she is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph accuses her of whoring and even suggests that her pregnancy might have been the result of rape.

But Stephen Green, of Christian Voice, said: There is no justification for any of this in the gospels. They do say Joseph was suspicious, but that was it. It doesn't suggest any physical or verbal abuse. It's typical of the fertile imagination you need for something like EastEnders. The kids that do nativity plays in school will be perplexed that someone has come up with this revisionist, puerile idea.

The BBC can't help themselves. Three quarters of our population are Christian. At the BBC, this proportion is reversed. You have a huge proportion of militant, liberal atheists who are keen to dump on Christianity. They wouldn't mock the birth of Muhammad , or anything to do with his life story. They wouldn't ridicule Hinduism or Sikhism, but Christianity is their big target.

Defending the drama, Jordan said: The story is told using modern language and the characters have modern attitudes. Personally, I believe in the immaculate conception but I think it's perfectly understandable if people struggle with the concept. I think the questions asked in our drama are the kind that any man watching a prime-time TV drama in 2010 would quite reasonably ask. I think it perfectly believable that Joseph should get angry with his betrothed and only agree to take her with him to Bethlehem when she risks being stoned by angry neighbours.

If my own wife came to me and said: 'Tony, I'm having a baby which isn't yours but, don't worry, I was visited by the Angel Gabriel and it's actually God's baby,' I think I would feel more than a little miffed.

A Church of England spokesman said: Tony Jordan's adaptation presents a gritty interpretation of the events of the first Christmas. We hope it will bring home the story of Jesus being born in a humble stable to many new viewers.

Update: Seeking a Haven from Nutters

24th December 2010. See  article from  guardian.co.uk

Sorry, asylum rooms only for couples in a properly consummated marriage

The BBC have rejected accusations that its The Nativity drama contained an anti-Jewish libel after a leading rabbi complained about the portrayal of one its characters.

Jonathan Romain, a prominent figure in the group Reform, said that the BBC was spoiling the season of goodwill by including a scene that showed a rabbi denying shelter to a pregnant Mary.

It shows the mother of Jesus trying to flee a hostile Bethlehem crowd and a rabbi refusing her the haven of his synagogue, letting her escape through a back door instead.

Romain said many Jews would be aghast that amid a story central to the beliefs of millions of Christians an anti-Judaic aspect has been twisted into the narrative . The Gospels tell us there was no room at the inn, not that a rabbi kicked Mary out of a synagogue . Having survived Mel Gibson's anti-Jewish Easter onslaught The Passion now the season of goodwill has been spoiled.

It would be tragic if a 30-minute television programme undid years of inter-faith dialogue, he added.

The BBC rejected his suggestion that the scene constituted an anti-Jewish libel, saying there was absolutely no truth to claims the rabbi was depicted in a negative way.

After a second review, the Philippines MTRCB (Movies and Television Review and Classification Board) gave Father Jejemon a G rating (for General Patronage).

That was after the two controversial scenes, shown in the trailer, were cut, one showing the Holy Eucharist accidentally dropping into the cleavage of a woman communicant and the other with the Holy Eucharist caught in the dentures of another woman communicant.

Some sectors, including priests, denounced the scenes as sacrilegious and called on the public to boycott the movie.

I meant no harm nor malice with those scenes, said Dolphy actor Dolphy.

Air New Zealand is removing a billboard in Nelson with the tagline Fares lower than your grandma's boobs after it sparked complaints that it is tacky, ageist and disrespectful to women.

The billboard was advertising Air NZ's cheap seat site, Grabaseat.

Stop Demand Foundation, which campaigns against sexual violence and sex abuse, wanted the billboard taken down and an apology from Air NZ. Yes, most of us like 'edgy and provocative', said Stop Demand founder Denise Ritchie.... [BUT] .. Most of us don't like, or accept, 'sexist and ageist'. Most of us know the difference. Apparently you do not.

Grabaseat manager Duane Perrott said the slogan was an entry in a competition from a Wellington resident whose grandmother lived in Nelson: What this person thought was funny, as did many others, clearly didn't resonate with some individuals today and Grabaseat will be removing the billboard shortly. We apologise if any offense was caused.

Family First had also called for the withdrawal of the billboard, saying it insulted grandparents and would be seen by children.

A work of video art briefly depicting a figurine of Christ with ants crawling on it has been yanked from the Smithsonian's Portrait Gallery after complaints from a Catholic group and members of Congress.

The four-minute video titled Fire in My Belly was made by the late New York City artist David Wojnarowicz. It features an 11-second segment of a small crucifix teeming with the insects. It had been on exhibit since Oct. 30 as part of a show on sexual difference in American portrait art.

The piece was labeled hate speech by Catholic League president William Donohue who also claimed that it was designed to insult Christians.

After he was alerted to the piece, Donohue began a campaign to urge Congress to cut public funding for the Smithsonian museum complex, he told The Associated Press: This is not the first time the Smithsonian has offended us, he said. I'm going to cast my net much wider. Why should the government pay for this? ... How dare they take our money to fund attacks on (our religion).

The call was taken up by the office of House Representative John A. Boehner.

While the amount of money involved may be small, it's symbolic of the arrogance Washington routinely applies to thousands of spending decisions involving Americans' hard-earned money, said Kevin Smith, a spokesman for Boehner, the likely next Speaker of the House.

Smithsonian officials told the Post they removed the offending piece to make sure the show's other pieces weren't overshadowed by the controversy.

The decision wasn't caving in, claimed museum director Martin E. Sullivan: We don't want to shy away from anything that is controversial ...BUT.. we want to focus on the museum's and this show's strengths.

Update: Art sponsors not pleased by censorship

15th December 2010. Based on article from  sfist.com
See also Large crowd of Houston art lovers protest Smithsonian censorship of A Fire in My Belly from  culturemap.com
See also Canadian artist wants work pulled from U.S. exhibit marked by controversy from  montrealgazette.com

Rep. John Boehner was unhappy that some Catholics found the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery's LGBT-themed Hide/Seek exhibit offensive. Boehner threatened increased scrutiny of the museum's funding as a roundabout way of getting the Gallery to pull works that don't jive with his constituency.

Except taxpayer dollars don't pay for the exhibitions or the works themselves, only the museum facilities. (Which are admittedly fairly important for holding an exhibition.)

The Andy Warhol Foundation, on the other hand, does provide a great deal of private funding to the museum - over $375,000 in the past three years to be exact - and they're not happy about seeing A Fire in My Belly disappear from the exhibition.

In a letter from President Joel Wachs sent to Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough, the Warhol Foundation spoke out saying:

Such blatant censorship is unconscionable. It is inimical to everything the Smithsonian Institution should stand for, and everything the Andy Warhol Foundation does stand for. ...we cannot stand by and watch the Smithsonian bow to the demands of bigots who have attacked the exhibition out of ignorance, hatred and fear.

Within the Smithsonian, at least one member of the Museum's advisory panel has resigned in protest. In an email posted on the Washington Post, commissioner James T. Bartlett wrote: I believe it is a fundamental right of museums and their curatorial staffs to make such decisions [about exhibition content], even if some art is deemed objectionable by external critics. I choose firmly and resolutely not to be part of an institution that is and can be put ad infinitum in this position.

The nutters of the Westboro Baptists have taken aim at a gay themes play in LA.

They were set to protest outside the downtown Pico Playhouse who are putting on a production of The Laramie Project .

This is a play by Moisés Kaufman and is based on news reports, journal entries and more than 200 interviews of people in Laramie in the aftermath of the murder of Matthew Shepard. It covers the town's reactions, the funeral and the trial of the killers (the court found that their motive for the attack was that Matthew Shepard was gay). The play does not advance a gay agenda (contrary to what the WBC contends) and has been performed nationwide and all over the world (including high school and college productions) since 2000. The Westboro Baptists are featured in it (they picketed Matthew Shepard's funeral) and they often picket its performances.

The Westboro Baptists have outlined their objections in typical hateful style:

Judy Shepard raised her son to be a disobedient pervert, and God cut that child off. His blood is on her hands! From the day that he was cut off to today, Judy Shepard has spent all her resources on teaching the young people of this nation the same rebellion that caused God to cut off her own son; and making a profit on it! How sick is it to make money off of a child who is dead at your hands?! Matt Shepard has been in Hell now for twelve years, with eternity left to go on his sentence; without appeal, parole, or time off for good behavior. All else about Matt is trivial and irrelevant. Deal with it! Be not deceived; God is not mocked. Gal. 6:7.

God Hates Fags! God Hates Fag-Enablers! Ergo, God hates fag-infested & fag-enabling Los Angeles, CA and all having to do with spreading sodomite lies via The Laramie Project; a tacky piece of cheap, lying, fag propaganda masquerading as legitimate theater.

Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind; it is abomination. Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith. Lev. 18:22, 23

A call to ban alcohol from Victorian strip clubs has infuriated venue operators.

The Coalition Against Trafficking Women Australia (CATWA) claim in a report that strip clubs harm women, increase crime rates and act as a gateway into prostitution.

The activities that take place in the clubs are clearly sexual and often involve a good deal of physical interaction between male buyers and the women who strip. Strip clubs often provide links to other sex industry services and in some clubs the full range of prostitution activities is available, even though they are technically illegal.

The report says these venues can't be seen merely as entertainment, that they have far more in common with brothels and, therefore, need similar restrictions and bans on liquor licences.

But Melbourne strip club owners are strongly rejecting suggestions they are somehow linked to rising crime rates, the exploitation of women or prostitution.

Nightclub Owners Forum spokesman David Butten said: First and foremost, these are licensed venues. The fact that it caters for a certain market is irrelevant, he said of strip clubs, adding that no clear link has been established with alcohol-related harm: Erotic entertainment has quite a distinction from sexual services, and any suggestion that women are being exploited is false.

There are seven strip clubs in Melbourne's CBD and 20 venues across the state that offer tabletop to private dancing: Many women who choose to work in strip tease do not want to work in prostitution, Butten said.

The Nightclub Owners Forum billed the latest push to strengthen laws against them as a moral and religious crusade.

Based on article from  sexparty.org.au

Sex Party President, Fiona Patten, said that the group's allegations of a proliferation of strip clubs did not stand up to scrutiny:  Since the first club appeared in Melbourne's CBD nearly 20 years ago, there are still only seven clubs in the CBD and no more than 20 across the entire state . It is ludicrous to even suggest that this represents a 'proliferation'.

Ms Patten said that CATWA embraced a lesbian separatist philosophy on sexual matters that was fundamentalist in nature and supportive of the Swedish model of regulating prostitution - which was not to regulate it at all, but to jail men who engaged in commercial sexual services. In Sweden the language of lesbian separatists now means that any man who engages in a normal commercial sexual service is officially said to be involved in 'sex trafficking'.

These fundamentalist feminist groups have also picketed Sexpo recently and their sexual agenda is similar to fundamentalist religious campaigners like Fred Nile. If these genteel 19th century notions of entertainment take hold in modern Victoria, thousands of people will be out of work and the tourism economy would take a huge hit.

Dozens of members of the militant group of Islamic Defenders Front staged a noisy protest in front of an Indonesian film company that just released a horror movie starring Japanese adult movie actress Maria Ozawa, who is known as Miyabi.

Reject Miyabi, the mother of all sinners, who propagates immoral behavior in this country, group leader Salim Alatas shouted in front of the Maxima Pictures office in West Jakarta.

After an emotional dialogue with a company executive, the protesters grabbed all the movie posters plastered on the office walls, and ripped them up and burned them.

Two days before the same group went to Soekarno-Hatta international airport in Jakarta and threatened to capture Ozawa upon her arrival and send her home.

Police forced the crowd to a parking area in front of the airport office, far from the terminal.

Well-known in Indonesia as Miyabi, which Ozawa used early in her career as an adult video actress, she was to attend the premiere of her second Indonesian movie Hantu Tanah Kusir, (The Ghost of Tanah Kusir Cemetery) .

The film followed the success of Menculik Miyabi, (Kidnapping Miyabi) , a teen comedy released last May after heated controversy delayed filming and forced scenes featuring her to be made in Tokyo instead of Jakarta.

The movies contain no sex-scenes and have been passed by the Indonesian censor.

The nutter cause has been supported up by some newspapers. Republika daily has dedicated front-page stories opposing Ozawa and other adult movie actress in Indonesian horror movies, including Japanese actresses Rin Sakuragi and Leah Yuzuki and U.S. actress Tera Patrick, although the latter three have not stirred much controversy as they are not as popular as Ozawa. It carried large sketches of the faces of foreign porn actresses that have appeared in Indonesian movies headlined National films on the brink of destruction.

Christian Voice is demanding Tesco pull a sinful Twilight advent calendar from its stores because it offends Christians.

Christian Voice says mixing religion with the cult vampire series is deeply offensive to Christians.

It's sickening to see the message of Jesus Christ being hijacked to peddle a brand like Twilight, which to all intents and purposes proclaims an anti-religious cult, said Stephen Green, national director of the group: Twilight may be fiction, but it is dangerous to mix-up such a story in the minds of impressionable children with that of the Nativity.

The Twilight Eclipse calendar features a picture of actress Kristen Stewart, and her two rivals in love - Edward the vampire and Jacob the werewolf.

Tesco apologised if anyone was offended but said it always gives customers a choice, adding: Twilight is a very popular brand and we aim to provide the types of products our customers would like to buy.'

The Italian satirist Leo Bassi has been the subject of a complaint filed in the courts of the Spanish city of Valladolid by the State Association of Christian Lawyers accusing him blasphemy.

Bassi allegedly mocked the pope, the Catholic religion and Christian symbols during his act. Bassi was performing in the Auditorium of the University of Valladolid at a conference organised by the Republican Atheist group. The conference was entitled Judeo-Christian roots of the West: an historical fraud to fight.

We think Leo Bassi may have committed a crime punishable under the Penal Code as the offense and derision toward the beliefs of a religious denomination, said William Garabito Efe, who made the complaint on behalf of the Association of Youth for Factual Information (Ajio).

As well as Bassi, the complaint names Republican Ateneo, and the rector of the University of Valladolid, Mark Sexton.

The complainants say that Bassi was dressed as Father Christmas as he mocked the most prominent symbols and beliefs of the Christian faith which they considered slander and libel that amounted discrimination on religious grounds that could incite hatred and violence.

Church leaders have urged the Scottish Government to show more respect for Christmas as ministers are poised to launch a festive safe sex message titled the Sexmas Survival Guide .

The government is set to approve an official sexual health website that substitutes the word Christ with sex when issuing advice to young people on how to avoid risky behaviour.

But the £100,000 promotion's fun with the word Christmas has angered church figures, who also disapprove of the website's innuendo-laden approach to discussing sex.

The advice should be more respectful, said John Deighan, the parliamentary officer for the Catholic Church: Using the word Christmas like that is symptomatic of a whole philosophy that undermines their safe sex strategy. They don't show enough delicacy of language and they don't show enough respect.

Rev Alan Falconer of the Church of Scotland's St Machar's Cathedral in Aberdeen said: This would not be appropriate at all. This detracts from the festival for it to be classified in this way.

The Sexmas Survival Guide will advise young people on how to deal with festive social occasions such as the After Work Do when inhibitions are relaxed and office workers have to negotiate the unexpected rise , and encounters with the employee of the year , who is ready for anything . For such situations, the guide advises: Slip a few condoms into your bag or pocket.

According to the guide, another hazard is the end of night ride . Getting home safely, it says, is best achieved by keeping a spare £20 note and some taxi numbers handy so that a cab can be taken at the end of the night.

Deighan claimed: This sort of approach trivialises sex and turns it into just another pastime when we should have a humanised vision of sex - that it is part of love and an intimate part of human relationships. The result of this sort of approach seems to be that things just get worse. The more you trivialise sex the more reckless people become.

A nutter DVD censoring technology has unsurprisingly wound up the movie industry.

Family Friendly Edited DVDs are being sued by Paramount, Warner Brothers, Sony, Disney, Universal, and Fox.

According to Hollywood Reporter, the outfit is in the business of distributing bowdlerised versions of movies so that the good Christian families are not shocked by the odd use of the word golly, or the steady march of female breasts which their god apparently hates.

However the problem with Family Friendly Edited DVDs is that they do not appear to have asked the movie studios if they can hack about their movies. And of course it sullies the reputation of the movie companies when viewers find they can't make sense of the plot (because a key event has been skipped by the censor)

Also to do the editing the outfit bypassed DVD DRMs

The studios have called for a temporary, preliminary and permanent injunction against Family Friendly's activities, plus an order requiring the company to deliver up for impound and disposal its inventory.

Family Friendly appear to have seen that the writing is on the wall and has started offering a liquidation sale of all their DVDs.

In light of the Cuban government's dissatisfaction with a mission in Call of Duty: Black Ops that has players attempting to assassinate Fidel Castro, the US-based Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ) has called for a boycott of the game.

Noting that Wal-Mart, Best Buy and dozens of other retailers in your community are today dealing this pornography to the children in your community, AFGJ called Black Ops part of the whole culture of US militarism with the entertainment industry's role being to desensitize us to violence.

AFGJ has a goal of achieving social change and economic justice by helping to build a stronger more unified grassroots movement. The organization recognizes that the concentration of wealth and power is the root cause of oppression.

The organization urges people to send a letter to local retailers, pass out a provided flier (PDF) in front of stores selling the game and approach the local city council in order to declare the game a violation under local pornography laws.

The NHS has been slammed by nutters after a video designed to encourage youngsters to use contraception was branded pornographic by 'outraged' parents.

Several short videos uploaded to the YouTube website are modelled on the Channel Four programme Skins and are targeted at teenagers.

The interactive video, Condon, No Condom , is promoted on the NHS website and is expected to be circulated virally online and used by teachers.

Teenage boys are given the choice of how they behave in the bedroom with a girl they meet at a party. In the first clip, a group of teenagers are preparing for a party from the point of view of an unseen male character. They are given the choice of whether to buy condoms or not buy condoms when they visit their local newsagents.

The next clip allows viewers to choose the video whip out a condom . The clip shows a scene where the male character has sex with the young woman against a door in a hallway.

Another video, called Go Back to Jen's shows the girl splayed across a bed while the filmer of the clip has sex with her.

In some scenarios the couple have unprotected sex. If the male tries to ignore the question of using a condom he is rejected by Jen.

A final video portrays the outcome of not using a condom as an unfullfilling event followed by the news that the teenage boy has contracted an STD.

Nutters have complained that at no point in the video are teenagers advised that abstinence is the 'right option' . Norman Wells, the director of the Family and Education Trust, said the NHS should not be sending out the message that casual sex leaves no regrets . He said: It is grossly irresponsible of the NHS to present a graphic portrayal of unbridled lust in which a young woman is depicted as no more that a sex object and then to tell young men that they have "made the right choices" simply because they have used a condom."

Vivienne Pattisson, the director of Mediawatch, said she was concerned that there were no effective controls to prevent children from watching the clips.

Keith Vaz has widened his blame game in Swedish territory. He has posted the following Early Day Motion before the British parliament

VIDEO GAMES AND SHOOTING 27.10.2010

That this House notes with concern that the recent race shootings in Malmo, Sweden have been associated with the violent video game Counter-Strike; further notes that the internet-based, first-person shooting game that pits a counter-terrorist team against terrorists was previously banned in Brazil and in 2007 was associated with US College Campus massacres; recognises the potential impact of violent video games on those under 18 years; and calls on the Government to ensure the purchase of video games by those under 18 years is controlled and that parents are provided with clear information on the violent content of certain games.

The background is that police in the Swedish city of Malmo have confirmed that an as yet unnamed 38 year old man has been arrested in connection with a series of gun attacks on people with ethnic minority backgrounds.

Prior to the arrest, local police had suspected that more than a dozen unsolved shootings over the last year, in which one person died and eight more were wounded, may have been the work of lone gunman. The man arrested at the weekend has now been charged with one count of murder and seven attempted murders.

So how do we get from racist nutjob shooting at the local migrant population to a three-year old video game?

It appears to have been The Times that decided to have a bit of dabble in stirring up a faux moral panic by quoting the opinions of a Mr Ahmad al-Mughrabi in its coverage of the story…

I am sure that this is down to some crazy kid who plays that sniping game Counterstrike all day. I don't believe in the lone Nazi theory

So who is our mysterious Mr al-Mughrabi? Is he a police officer? A city official? A representative of the Swedish Justice Ministry?

No, as far as anyone has managed to ascertain, to date, he's just some bloke that The Times picked off the street at random and that's all the evidence that Keith Vaz needs to put down an EDM and start banging on about violent video games, yet again.

Animal rights organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) has blasted a bizarre Czech calendar featuring a topless model decapitating a pig.

A Peta spokesperson branded the controversial calendar slaughter porn , according to www.metro.co.uk.

Only a sociopath could find sexual excitement from the depiction of horrific and violent acts against frightened living beings, the spokesperson said: Such imagery is likely to get the public to consider that real pigs used for meat are sensitive beings who suffer violent, bloody deaths and who do not want to die.

Another image features a model standing over what appears to be a dead pig in a trough, while chickens drink from pools of blood on the ground.

The model featured in one of the photos is a former Miss Czech Republic by the name of Diana Kobzanova.

Following Peta's condemnation, Kobzanova has defended the calendar, revealing that the animals pictured in the photographs were in fact models built for the occasion.

All the proceeds from the calendar will go to the Helpers Association, which trains guide dogs for the blind and the physically handicapped, she said.

Christian Brothers Investment Services led a group of 220 other institutional investors to ask the United States' largest cable television and satellite TV providers to stop distributing on-demand pay-per-view pornography and to stop carrying adult channels that specialize in pornographic material.

Letters were sent Nov. 3 to Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cablevision, which are, respectively, the first-, second- and fifth-largest cable companies in the United States and the three biggest publicly traded companies. Similar letters also went to DirecTV and Dish Network, the two principal U.S. satellite TV firms.

If a company cannot completely wean itself from porn, the letter said, then it should alert stockholders to the potentially significant legal and business risks that exist from carrying porn by including that information in the company's public disclosures.

Dan Nielsen, director of socially responsible investing for Christian Brothers Investment Services, outlined some of the risks to companies.

There's certainly the reputational risk, which is obviously very controversial in nature, Nielsen claimed: There are legal risks if the companies are caught distributing materials that are defined as obscene and therefore illegal, therefore risking alienation of the company's customer base. If a company has developed a reputation as a family-friendly company yet distributes porn, it is a test of the good will of the company, he added.

Calling pornography a $13 billion industry in the United States, the Christian Brothers letter said, We feel that as more people become concerned about pornography and the effects, both direct and indirect, it has on our society, greater scrutiny will be placed on those companies involved in its production and distribution. The costs for remaining involved in pornography will increase.

Among the 220 signatories are leading members of a host of dozens of men's and women's religious orders in the United States and elsewhere, but also representatives from other investment agents and the travel industry.

A Serbian film has been banned from public screenings in Spain following a provisional injunction by a court in San Sebastian.

The injunction was served to San Sebastian's Fantasy and Terror Film Week, four hours before A Serbian film was due to screen at the festival, forcing Film Week director Jose Luis Rebordinos to pull the film from the program.

Two more festivals in Spain -- in Molins de Rei and Malaga -- have followed suit.

The film played at October's Sitges Fantasy Fest, stirring a wide range of reactions. One was a request by Spain's Catholic Confederation of Family and Student Parents (Concapa) for the film to be yanked from San Sebastian's Terror Week -- a petition that appears to have prompted the temporary injunction. Concapa argued the film offended human dignity and the underage.

Currently the ban is temporary, the San Sebastian court still has to rule on a definitive prohibition.

Saw 3D is a 2010 US horror by Kevin Greutert.

The BBFC passed the film 18 uncut with the consumer advice: Contains strong gory horror.

The BBFC explained their 18 rating:

Saw 3D is the seventh film in the horror franchise and features a vengeful killer torturing selected victims with elaborate purpose-built devices. It was classified 18 for strong gory horror.

There are several scenes of strong gory horror. The killer often constructs elaborate devices or rigs up machinery to kill his victims. For example, circular saw blades slice into the victims causing blood and intestines to spray from the wounds. In another scene, a man has to remove a fish-hook, attached to a piece of string, that is lodged inside a woman's stomach. As he attempts to retrieve it, the woman coughs up blood until the fish-hook, covered in viscera, is finally removed. The horror and violence throughout the film is often prolonged and sadistic, dwells on the infliction of pain or injury, and also features the strongest gory images. The BBFC's Guidelines at 15 state that Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic [...] violence is also unlikely to be acceptable . Therefore, like its predecessors, the film was only permissible at 18 .

SAW 3D also contains some strong language.

Comment: Saw 3D ups the ante on R-rated gore

See  article from  newstimes.com

There are seemingly no restraints on the graphic violence that can be shown in a movie within the framework of an R rating.

Last weekend, I had the misfortune of seeing the No. 1 movie in the United States, Saw 3D , and was appalled by the nonstop torture-related violence in this sixth sequel to a popular series about a madman and his cronies who force their captives to mutilate themselves if they are to have any hope of living.

What really shocked me, however, was how graphic the violence can get now without pushing a movie into NC-17 territory. The MPAA appears to believe that there are still sexual elements in movies that are simply too much for anyone under the age of 16 to witness -- with or without parental consent -- but those same teenagers can handle moments of excruciating mutilation and death that leave nothing to the imagination.

Did the MPAA ratings panel watch all of Saw 3D or did they ask that it be turned off after the teaser opening in which a young woman is sliced in two on camera (perhaps the least graphically violent killing in the film)?

I'm not proposing censorship of horror movies. ..[BUT]... just hoping to make parents aware that their teens might be seeing a lot more than they should when they are dropped off at something like Saw 3D.

Comment: Violence on screen - is it worth the risk?

Based on article from mediawatch-uk.blogspot.com

The final instalment of the horror franchise Saw has topped the box office in its opening weekend. Saw 3D is the seventh film in the ultra-violent series which has been described as torture porn .

Saw 3D has been classified by the BBFC as suitable viewing for people over the age of 18. Once a film has been passed by the BBFC with an 18 certificate it is then able to be shown on television in due course. We are concerned that once this film is shown on television (as previous films in the franchise have been) it will be very easy for children to access - particularly on video-on-demand services such as iplayer, itvplayer and 4OD. Ofcom research shows that fewer than a third of parents use the password protected services available to screen what their children have access to.

We can no longer ignore the fact that what viewers see on screen has an effect. Even the Government recognises this and is reported to be asking the producers of soap operas to include safe sex messages in their programmes. There are numerous studies linking exposure to violence in the media with violent behaviour.

If drug companies now have to pass the most stringent test to show their products don't harm even the smallest proportion of takers, should violence on the screen be any different?

Bearing in mind the cost to society, and the misery of the victims of violent behaviour, if there is the slightest possibility that media violence can cause harm is this worth the risk in the interests of entertainment?

Comment: Mediawatch UK Cannot Quite Say That Saw 3D Should Be Banned

Based on article from mediasnoops.wordpress.com

Why can't they just say what they think! That Saw 3D and other films like it, in their view should be banned. Maybe they are afraid of appearing as the self appointed moral guardians who think they know what is and is not good for the public to be allowed to see that they are.

...Read the full article

25,000 people have signed a petition calling for David Cameron to act against computer-enhanced pictures in adverts and magazines which supposedly lead to distorted ideas about beauty.

Girlguiding UK has delivered the petition to Downing Street calling for the Government to introduce compulsory labelling for all airbrushed images.

Gemma Hallatt, an 18-year-old guide, said: We are pleased that so many people have supported our petition calling for a kitemark to distinguish between airbrushed and natural images. We each know from our own experience that the airbrushed images that you see in magazines and on advertising boards can really affect the self confidence of girls and young women.

Most of us have no idea how significantly these pictures are altered and are shocked when they realise that the images they have of celebrities and models are not a reality.

Hallatt also said that the guides will continue their campaign to ensure that all airbrushed images are clearly marked.

As the start of this year's White Ribbon Against Pornography (WRAP) Week nears, Robert Peters, president of Morality in the Media, is hoping to draw attention to his view that American has a problem – pornography – and he wants more action taken.

According to the American Family Association Journal, every year the porn industry creates 11,000 new movies, compared to the 400 mainstream videos created by Hollywood. Many of those videos are published online for the public to access.

Pat Trueman, an attorney and anti-porn campaigner, noted, Hardcore porn is now more easily available than ever before. It's not only produced by porn syndicates, but by individuals.

Trueman believes pornography is constantly being ignored. The problem is that Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush hardly prosecuted obscenity, at least no Internet companies. They just downplayed it, he said. And the Obama administration is also doing nothing.

Peters noted that the U.S. Justice Department has the legal authority to take on the mass producers creating sexual explicit content through obscenity laws, but it is not taking action.

Peters lamented that even websites that claim to be child protected have free teasers showing hard core content. You name it, it's free of charge. They say you have to be 18 years old to look at it, but all you have to do is click the button, Peters said.

Trueman claimed that pornography is impacting family break-up in high numbers. Plus there are many other effects such as an increased sex trafficking, he added. [eg an increase to just 5 convictions in New York in 2.75 years].

Nutters are being encouraged to take a stand against pornography during WRAP Week, which kicks off Sunday. A flier put out by the Morality in Media encourages the public to wear a white ribbon and contact state prosecutors with pornography complaints.

The New York Times reports that the Parents Television Council's salad days are over. The recession has caught up with the PTC.

The economic downturn has had a serious impact on the PTC, as parents realize that not having a job is much worse for your kids than letting them watch Family Guy . The cost of all those decency watchdog reports the group puts out ran into a huge drop in donations. In 2009 PTC revenue declined by over 25%. In response the nonprofit has scaled down its staff by almost 40%.

According to The Times, the Council has still been faithfully sending out those standard letters urging the easily offended to complain about a TV program, and to donate to the PTC. Sign this complaint, a typical mailing promises, and we'll send it to the Federal Communications Commission or broadcaster

Only one problem—for a while the cash was being collected, but the follow-through letters weren't going out. Almost 195,000 pieces of donor/member mail was never sent to the intended recipient, disgruntled ex-PTC staffer Patrick Salazar told the newspaper. Most of these were time-sensitive docs whose value is now shot.

While PTC top brass put the organization's membership at more than 1.3 million, that's based on petition signers. Salazar told The Times that 12,000 people answer the Council's yearly fundraising pitches, at most.

GQ magazine's sexy photoshoot spread featuring hotties Lea Michele, Cory Monteith and Dianna Agron from the high school musical drama Glee .

But the ever-offended Parents Television Council had quite a different reaction: the conservative watchdog think it's tantamount to pedophilia.

The fact that the people involved are well past their years as minors—Michele and Agron are 24, Monteith's 28—seems to make no mind to the PTC.

It is disturbing that GQ, which is explicitly written for adult men, is sexualizing the actresses who play high school-aged characters on Glee in this way, PTC President Tim Winter said: It borders on pedophilia. Sadly, this is just the latest example of the overt sexualization of young girls in entertainment.

Many children who flocked to High School Musical have grown into Glee fans. They are now being treated to seductive, in-your-face poses of the underwear-clad female characters posing in front of the school lockers, one of them opting for a full-frontal crotch shot. By authorizing this kind of near-pornographic display, the creators of the program have established their intentions of the show's direction. And it isn't good for families.

GQ has released the following statement via editor-in-chief Jim Nelson:

The Parents Television Council must not be watching much TV these days and should learn to divide reality from fantasy. As often happens in Hollywood, these 'kids' are in their twenties. Cory Montieth's almost 30! I think they're old enough to do what they want.

The White Ribbon Against Pornography (WRAP) Campaign is an annual event and this year is from Oct. 31 to Nov. 7.

Bishop Michael D. Pfeifer of San Angelo explains: WRAP is a reminder that our federal law enforcement agencies and prosecutors are to be commended for their diligent efforts to curb sexual exploitation of children on the Internet. However, for the most part, these same agencies and prosecutors have turned a blind eye toward the explosion of hard-core adult pornography on the Internet; and as a result, a flood tide of this vile material is pouring through the Internet into countless American homes, where even small children can be exposed to obscenity and older children can easily find it.

Outside a branch of Tesco in central London, 30 people in pyjamas, nightgowns and fluffy slippers have gathered to campaign against lads' mags. All are members of the activist group Object and they are here to take part in the monthly Porn Versus Pyjamas campaign. They dart down the dairy aisle to the display of lads' magazines, which they mark with their own slogans. FHM is put in a paper bag emblazoned with: For Horrible Misogynists , while Maxim is hidden behind the phrase MAXIMum Sexism .

The women start a conga-line through the supermarket, chanting Hey, ho, sexist mags have got to go , alerting security guards to their presence. Eventually they're ushered out, but not before depositing pamphlets, entitled Porn v Pyjamas: Why Lads' Mags Are Harmful, in customers' baskets.

Their campaign began earlier this year, after Tesco ruled that customers wouldn't be allowed to shop in pyjamas because this could make other people feel uncomfortable. Object bit back by accusing some Tesco stores of ignoring the voluntary codes of conduct that suggest lads' mags should be covered up and repositioned on the top shelf, alongside pornographic content.

The Tesco demonstration is part of its Feminist Fridays campaign – monthly events where activists protest against lads' mags and other forms of sexism. After being ejected from Tesco, the demonstrators spend three hours outside the store, distributing 1,500 leaflets.

Lads' mags are an example of the mainstreaming of pornography, says Anna van Heeswijk of Object. The whole tone is of complete contempt [for women]. They are made up of photographs that come straight from pornography and would have been thought of as hardcore 50 years ago. But now the boundaries have been pushed to such an extent that they are considered an appropriate part of lads' mags and soft porn.

Miley Cyrus the former Hannah Montana star and celebrity teen Pop/Country singer has wound up the nutters with her latest music video Who Owns My Heart.

The Parents Television Council (PTC) has found her to be too revealing and sexually suggestive in the music video. The PTC feels that the 17 year-old singer is sending out the 'wrong message' to her fans.

The president Tim Winter of PTC stated in a statement obtained by TMZ that it was unfortunate that Miley Cyrus had participated in a sexualised video like that one.

Miley built her fame and fortune entirely on the backs of young girls, stated Tim Winter. Winter's went on to say how it saddened them that Cyrus seems to be really anxious to distance herself from her fan base so quickly.

In the video, Miley Cyrus can be seen laying whirligig on the bed seemingly without any pants on. She can also be seen in the video caressing on her chest and groping men who also touch on her while on the dance floor.

So come on baby/keep on provoking me/keep on ropin' me/like a rodeo/baby pull me close/come on here we go, Miley Cyrus sings in the song.

The radical Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) is set to protest the upcoming release of an Indonesian horror movie starring adult superstar Tera Patrick.

The movie Rintihan Kuntilanak Perawan   (The Moans of a Virgin Ghost) is scheduled to be released Oct. 14.

Reports said that the hardline group will rally thousands of paramilitary units to protest against the Film Censorship Board and the producers, K2K productions.

Habib Salim Alatas, head of the Jakarta chapter of the FPI, said he was unaware that Patrick was in Indonesia to shoot the movie. He said, The next time a porn film star lands at Soekarno Hatta airport, we will block them. Nobody told us that the actress had already come and shot the movie in Indonesia.

It isn't clear whether Patrick performs hardcore sex in the film, but the film's producer KK Dheraj said the movie had passed all censorship requirements.

To have Tera Patrick in the movie was risky. I did the shooting secretly outside of Jakarta, 10 days before the fasting month started. Twenty bodyguards were deployed to guard her from the airport to the hotel room, Dheraj said, adding that Patrick was no longer in Jakarta.

Alatas and the FPI's message to porn stars is to stay out of Indonesia. We will not stand still, he said.

The NZ Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that a Habitual Fix restaurant advertisement (for their fruit drinks), which features a female cartoon pear and strawberry running away in fear from a male cartoon banana who is indecently exposing himself to them, does not breach any advertising standards.

The advertisement featured on a prominent billboard in central Auckland.

According to the ASA this isn't a sexualized image (even though the word fetish is used in the actual advert), in fact they say that the image is actually just hyperbolic .

Morally Bankrupt

Based on article from  voxy.co.nz

Nutter group Family First NZ is labeling the Advertising Standards Authority as nave and morally bankrupt after it rejected complaints against a sexual advertisement using cartoon-imaged fruit. Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ said:

Advertisers now have a green light to use sexualized and offensive messages in the form of cartoons using fruit and vegetables. Families don't need much imagination to realize how far that can be taken and how dangerous it is.

The ASA naively argued that children would not see the image as sexualized, and that the image was 'hyperbolic' - all this despite the acknowledgement by the Board of a 'phallic banana in a flashing pose', and the use of the word 'fetish'.

Yet again, the ASA has shown hostility towards the wellbeing and protection of families, and seems to act as a 'mates club' to advertisers who are committed to pushing the boundaries without any consequences of note.

Family First is calling for the Board of the ASA to be changed, for the pre-vetting of advertisements, and for there to be more representatives of family, children, and community groups.

A Kentucky nutter group has filed a lawsuit after being denied a request to create a specialty license plate bearing the motto, In God We Trust.

Reclaim Our Culture Kentuckiana (ROCK) says it first applied for a Kentucky In God We Trust speciality license plate in 2007.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet creates specialty plates to spotlight various non-profit organizations. Motorists can purchase the plates in the process and may choose to make an additional donation to the non-profit in question.

ROCK said it planned to use those donations for education regarding the dangers of pornography and to provide help for women and children victimized by pornography and the sex industry.

But even though ROCK claimed the application met all statutory requirements, the Transportation Cabinet denied it in 2008, saying the plate was designed to promote Christianity, Fox41.com reported.

They stated that our primary purpose was the advancement of a particular religion because there is one bible verse that appears on the ROCK website, MaryAnn Gramig, director of policy and operations for ROCK, told FoxNews.com.

Kentucky law says in order to be eligible to create specialty license plates, a group must, among other things, be a non-profit based in Kentucky, contain no discrimination against any race, color, religion, sex or national origin, not be affiliated with any political party, and not be created by a group that, has as its primary purpose the promotion of any specific faith, religion or antireligion.

It was the judgment of the special plate committee in this cabinet that it just did not meet the statutory criteria that this panel laid out, Chuck Wolfe, a spokesman for the Transportation Cabinet told Fox41.com, saying the group violated the last tenet.

Gramig says ROCK does meet the religion clause. Even though ROCK is a faith-based organization, that's not our primary purpose…we focus on areas of decency, she said.

ROCK has now filed a motion for summary judgment in Franklin Circuit Court last week requesting the court overturn the Transportation Cabinet's decision.

Oral arguments in the case have been set for December 13.

Update: Meanwhile in Vermont

11th October 2010. Based on article from  christianpost.com

A federal appeals court has ruled that faith-based lettering on vehicle license plates is allowed under the First Amendment, but emphasized that its ruling is limited to Vermont's ban on religious messages.

In ruling in favor of Shawn Byrne, the three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals in New York reversed the decision of a federal judge who rejected Byrne's 2005 claim that the state discriminated against him when it rejected his application for a license plate that would read JN36TN – a reference to the popular Bible verse John 3:16.

The appeals court noted how Vermont allows its residents to request vanity plates that convey messages on a variety of topics, including statements of personal philosophy and taste, inspirational messages, and statements of affiliation with or affirmation of entities, causes, and people. The state does not, however, permit any combination of letters or numbers that refer, in any language, to a ... religion or deity.

The state (Vermont) rejected Byrne's message only because it addressed ... areas of otherwise permissible expression from a religious perspective, wrote the appeals court. This the state cannot do.

Update: Nutters Foiled

20th April 2011 See  article from  business.avn.com

The Louisville nutter group called Reclaim Our Culture Kentuckiana (ROCK) had the idea that it could promote the 'glory of God', make some money and fight the 'devil's work', porn, all at the same time, by sponsoring a specialty Kentucky license plate adorned with the words, In God We Trust.

Great idea, except for the fact that a judge just nixed the plan, siding with the state's Transportation Cabinet, which rejected ROCK's 2008 application on the grounds that the group promotes religion.

Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd found the group's claim that the plate was intended only to oppose porn and not to promote religion farfetched, writing, in his ruling, The phrase 'In God We Trust' does not indicate to anyone who views the plate that the holder of the specialty plate supports the goal of abolishing pornography and the sex industry in the commonwealth.

A Dutch nutter group, Bond Tegen Het Vloeken or The League Against Blasphemy and Swearing has launched a new poster campaign at bus stops and in railway stations across the country to to combat profanity in general, and blasphemy in particular.

One poster depicts two beautiful swans showing fondness for each other, accompanied by the caption: Talk to each other. Cursing is not necessary!

Earlier posters have become collectors' items thanks to their originality. For the last soccer World Cup, the organisation chose an image of a striker with an angry face who had just missed a goal. The motto was: A curse always shoots wide of the mark.

Last autumn the poster showed a colourful parrot and the words: Cursing must be learned. Don't repeat them in parrot-fashion!

Every year the organisation publishes its Cursing Monitor , which shows that the use of profanity has risen considerably in radio and television.

The organisation has not only tasked itself with highlighting profanity, it also makes suggestions on how to lessen it. It has strung together a list of piss poor alternative words to use in moments of stress. Many of them are botanical in origin: instead of Shit! why not try Moss! suggests the organisation.

Commercials Advice (CAD), the watchdog set up by Free TV Australia to classify and approve television commercials, has banned another pro-euthanasia commercial for promoting suicide.

According to YourLastRight.com, the group behind the ad, CAD banned the spot for failing to comply with regulation 2.17 of the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice. Section 2.17.5 of the code stipulates that realistic depiction of methods of suicide, or promotion or encouragement of suicide is unsuitable for broadcast .

Neil Francis, chairman and CEO of the YourLastRight.com campaign, told Crikey the ad was rejected despite receiving preliminary commercial approval from CAD.

The only thing that they [CAD] advised us of the airing time — that it should not be on during children's programs and of course we would have no interest in airing during those periods, Francis told Crikey.

The 30-second commercial, which was due to air this Sunday on the major commercial networks, has instead been uploaded to YouTube in the hope it goes viral.

From yourlastright.com

YourLastRight.com brings together all Australian dying-with-dignity and voluntary euthanasia societies to deliver choice and dignity to Australians.

We won't force our opinion on anyone but nor do we want to have our rights limited by others' beliefs any longer. For decades most Australians have believed that medically assisted dying should be a fundamental right. Today, 85% of Australians* agree but the timidity of politicians means that legislation still lags behind the will of the people. No longer.

Millions of Americans, Belgians, Dutch and Swiss now have this right to choose to end their lives in a controlled, peaceful, dignified way – why not us?

The North Yorkshire vicar who has authored the most frightening children's book every written says he is having to keep the details of a nationwide school tour secret, for fear of lobbying from Christians nutters.

Graham Taylor has come under fire from Christians and parents over his new children's book – featuring 11 murders, stabbings and teenage girls having their throats ripped out.

GP Taylor – who found fame after self-publishing world wide hit Shadowmancer – has been blasted by Christian Voice for extolling death and destruction' in The Vampyre Labyrinth , a bloodsucker set in Second World War Whitby

The author now fears that owing to the snowball of opposition to the book some people may take direct action. I am about to embark on a school tour and talk to 20,000 children, he added.

I am concerned that there is a real threat that some people may start lobbying bookshops and schools to stop children buying the book. We are living in the age of direct action. I saw what happened to Jerry Springer the Opera and now I fear for my career.

The book has recently earned the title 'the most terrifying children's book ever written'. Many people are saying that it is far too frightening and that children should be warned before opening the pages. The book has already sold out its 50,000 first print and publishers Faber are rushing out a reprint.

Christian Voice chairman Stephen Green said Shame on any head teacher who invites GP Taylor into their school with this book. It is up to head teachers to behave more responsibly and if I was a parent at a school that allowed him in I'd be straight up to the school and demanding answers from the head teacher.

Green said messages on the Christian Voice website showed the strength of feeling including one which said: To promote gore, bloodlust and thoughts of death as being healthy topics for the minds of innocent children is bizarre.

The creators of the video game Grand Theft Auto accepted substantial undisclosed libel damages yesterday over an entirely false story that it was planning a version based on the gunman Raoul Moat.

Take 2 Inc (Rockstar Games) brought High Court proceedings over an article and leader in the Daily Star in July.

Its solicitor, Melanie Hart, told Mr Justice Tugendhat in London that the story claimed the new game – supposedly entitled Grand Theft Auto Rothbury – would be based on the events in Northumberland.

She said: The defendant now accepts that Rockstar Games never had any intention to create such a video game at any time. The story was entirely false.

Sex in advertising is one thing. But sex with a vodka bottle may be quite another.

Edgy vodka maker Skyy Spirits has unleashed a print and billboard ad campaign that's winding up the nutters.

It shows a woman's legs, clad in red tights and heels, wrapped around a Skyy vodka bottle.

One anti-alcohol nutter group claims it violates the distilled spirits industry's own code of advertising ethics — and needs to be yanked.

This is just ridiculous, it's porn-a-hol, says Bruce Lee Livingston, executive director at the Marin Institute. Underage kids will look at this and associate sexual prowess with drinking Skyy.

Livingston says the sexual lewdness in the ad shows the industry can't regulate itself. The FTC ( Federal Trade Commission ) should be all over this.

Another whinger added: It's just jamming a bottle in a woman's crotch, says branding 'expert' Steven Addis. A great ad uses heart or mind. This one's starting below the waist.

Shot by fashion photographer Raymond Meier, who's done ads for Calvin Klein, Louis Vuitton and Armani, the ad is in October issues of Cosmopolitan, Rolling Stone, InStyle and Maxim. It will appear on billboards in New York, Chicago, Dallas and Miami.

The Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. self regulatory ad code says: Beverage alcohol advertising and marketing materials should not rely upon sexual prowess or sexual success as a selling point for the brand.

Mary Engle, the FTC's associate director for advertising practices, says, We don't have specific guidelines on alcohol marketing. We encourage companies to comply with self regulatory codes of conduct.